


Golden Daffodils

by SaturnChild



Series: SaturnChild's Frattweek4 [2]
Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ballet, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Awkward Frank Castle, Ballet Dancer Matt Murdock, Ballet Teacher Claire Temple, Bisexual Frank Castle, Child Neglect, Developing Relationship, Divorce, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Maria Castle bashing, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nail Polish, POV Frank Castle, Prompt: nail, Queer Matt Murdock, Single Dad Frank Castle, Smitten Frank Castle, Sweetheart Matt Murdock, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Veteran Frank Castle, frattweek4, internalized prejudice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:39:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29308152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaturnChild/pseuds/SaturnChild
Summary: He notices a whole lot of things the first time he meets his divorce lawyer. Frank is good at people reading, he's good at opening people up, seeing what makes them tick. Yet, Murdock is a mystery.He notices how he gravitates towards his business partners as if they hung the moon themselves. He notices his oddly placed bruises and scrapes, his rose pink lips. He notices the small gym bag he always carries around. And somehow, against his own will, he keeps noticing Murdock’s obsession with painting his nails even when he can’t appreciate the colors.Frank’s intrigued. (And he can appreciate the colors, but no one needs to know that).
Relationships: Frank Castle/Maria Castle (past), Frank Castle/Matt Murdock, Maria Castle/Billy Russo
Series: SaturnChild's Frattweek4 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150229
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54
Collections: Fratt Week





	Golden Daffodils

**Author's Note:**

> I've been waiting for some time to do a fluff piece on Smitten Frank being smitten and Oblivious (slightly oblivious) Matty in an alternate universe. So, in this piece, Frank's family didn't die, Maria Castle cheats Frank with Billy Russo and starts neglecting her kids. Foggy and Matty come to the rescue as Frank's divorce lawyers and Frank is dumbstruck by Matty's beauty, because who isn't.  
> This is mostly fluff you guys, I've been needing some of that <3

The first thing Frank Castle notices about his divorce lawyers are, respectively: shorty blonde and scrawny red. 

He’s not proud of it, his observations are usually more... elaborated. If asked, he’d justify himself that he had a whole lot of shit going on in his life right now, and if he didn’t see anything beyond hair and stature, well, his CO wasn’t around to berate him anymore. And he was discharged from the marines almost a year ago, so, fuck that.

The first one (shorty blonde), with medium length hair had round eyes and that sort of ridiculously nice smile on his face. He looked like he was made of pure charisma, and Frank didn’t know how to deal with that, most of the time. But he likes the lil’ cupcake’s disposition, and tries to meet his greetings with half the enthusiasm and politeness the other does.

He doesn’t succeed, obviously. Frank wouldn’t know polite and enthusiasm if it hit him with a brass knuckle to the face. So he grunts out a  _ hey,  _ like a complete asshole.

Sue him, his life’s went to shit since he came back with a bullet wound that won’t stop twinging his shoulder and found out his wife and his best friend had cozied up a whole lot, enough for her to forget she had kids. 

His eyes, however, zero with amazing focus on the second one. Scrawny red, of course. The one with auburn hair, small smile and red round shades. He’s slightly taller than the other one, but not as wide. He notices, particularly, narrow shoulders and a trimmed waist, and a perfect pose too. Chin up, shoulders back, spine straight and relaxed. Then, he notices the cane and, more specifically, the hands holding it.

That’s actually the first thing his brain actually computes about the lawyer, his focus shot to shit. His hands. They are almost dainty somehow, pianist fingers - long and thin, well taken care of. His nails were carefully manicured and... shone?

Oh.

He was wearing nail polish. A really light yellow color, with a small sunflower painted on his ring finger. It looks good on him. Really good actually. His head tilts, he keeps inspecting it. He remembered liking to feel Maria’s hands when she painted her nails, it would feel soft and smooth against his calloused fingers.

Frank averts his eyes, then. Thinking of her latest shit is enough to bring him back to the present.

Almost. His eyes end up going back to Scrawny Red’s face, connecting the dots with the mobility cane and the shades, he’s most likely blind. Yeah. And has really pretty lips too. He has to concentrate on not flushing like a teenager then - he just doesn’t know how to deal with pretty people alright? Frank has been in too many tours and it shows on his beaten up mug and bumped nose that won’t ever heal. Lisa keeps insisting he’s handsome, and so does Sarah and even David, bu he’s calling bullshit.

What the hell, his lips are  _ really pink.  _ A perfect shade of pink actually. Does he wear gloss or somethin’? It can’t be his real lips, can it? They are goddamn perfect what the-

“Mr. Castle?” 

“Yes” he tries not to get flustered by it, eyes going back to Shorty Blonde, who doesn’t look the slightest bit impressed. He turns his eyes to tall blonde, big eyes by the receptionist’s desk with a exasperated eyeroll. She chuckles, doesn’t mention anything. Probably an inside joke.

He doesn’t think too much about it, he’s distracted. Red’s hands are really soft looking. Plush cherry tinted fucking lips what the- the clean shaven look was perfect- his hair shone  _ ginger _ in the light. Tiny fucking waist looked almost breakable  _ how the hell _ \-  _ What the-  _

“As we were saying. I’m Foggy Nelson. This is my partner Matt Murdock. You were in contact with our associate, Miss Page. 

“Yeah” he grunts out, trying to focus on Shorty Blonde A.K.A Nelson. And now, little Red, Matt.  _ Matt _ , probably from  _ Matthew.  _ Hum, nice name. His eyes end up on him again -  _ shit -  _ and he’s still smiling that tiny thing. Concentrate. “Yeah, she talked to me on the phone. Told me just had to show up for now, bring some documents” 

Little Red -  _ Matt -  _ tilts his head to the side like a fucking puppy, probably due to hearing his voice clearly the first time since he got here. Frank has been told before his voice is scarily rough. His kids loved it when he imitated the monsters from their story books. 

“That’s correct” he says, for the first time, and he realizes he hadn’t thought about how his voice would sound. It’s slightly deeper than he thought, a whole lot softer and smoother thank he could ever imagine. “Miss Page told us you’re going through a divorce” 

“Yeah, that’s right” he grunts out, mind slowly reconnecting with all the shit has to sort out. 

Lisa made it clear she doesn’t want to see her mom again not for a long time, and he keeps remembering how Frankie Jr. cried and asked why his mommy didn’t love him anymore and  _ fuck.  _ It takes a small sigh out of him, he doesn’t know the first clue on how to deal with this. Not the divorce, that part was easy. But his kids. How can he look them in the eyes and tell them their mother isn’t even trying to get shared custody of them?

Maria was almost unrecognizable by Billy’s side. She didn’t pay attention to her kids, forgot to feed them. He came home from Kandahar to find Frankie, that months ago barely reached the stove, cooking eggs for himself and his sister and that, above all else, was what made him loose it. Not the long time cheating, not the lies.

The revelation had come when he came back, 7 months ago, and found Billy’s clothes forgotten under their bed. It didn’t come as a surprise. Not really. What did come as a surprise was his kids, both so fucking young, learning to take care of themselves while their mother gallivanted around with someone he once considered a brother.

Since Frank came back, she’d occasionally try to make amends with him and her kids. Only to conveniently forget the both of them for weeks on end. 

He knew things had been tough for them. He was gone for most part of the year, the kids grew up seeing him 5 months a year, at most. It didn’t give her the right to neglect them like that. Plant those doubts and those fears and all that grief in their hearts. 

“And it’s our understanding Miss...” Nelson’s voice startles him slightly, and he tries to keep himself tethered to the present “Maria Elizabeth Castle nee Bianchi has no wish to get full custody of your kids, correct?” 

“Yeah” 

“I’m sorry to hear that” Murdock discloses, voice smaller and softer and yet every inch sincere. Something in it makes Frank sag against the chair, and he grunts in recognition 

“Could you please check if your kids names where spelled correctly, Mr. Castle?” Nelson inquires, matter off fact. Despite being the most charismatic, it’s clear Murdock is the most empathetic one. He confirms the spelling, sags back against his chair.

“Moving forwards then...” Murdock continues, slim fingers tracing the braille in his stack on documents. They start talking business then. Splitting possessions, the ownership on the house, the kids. Maria seemed happy enough at Billy’s new penthouse, so there’s a lot he’s sure she won’t bother to come back for (including their kids, which still hurts him in a way her cheating didn’t). The custody, Nelson says, has to be discussed properly with Maria’s lawyer, but Frank makes his wishes known.

“Look. If she wants to see her kids, fine. I ain’t stopping her. But she warns before she comes yeah? If she wants a weekend she warns me beforehand. She's left my babies alone in the house, neglected them, made them think she doesn't love 'em. My 7 years old boy knows how to make lunch, dinner and breakfast for his sister and that’s on her. That’s on her. They stay with me, ‘cos I damn well will take care of ‘em, got it?” 

He knows his lawyers don’t need to put up with any of his shit. Knows this isn’t up to them to work out. But he got shivers to think of them taking his kids away, of the both of his babies growing up with Billy’s larger than life ego and Maria’s obvious newfound obsession with him.

He’s getting too worked up, and Murdock catches on quickly, bringing his soft, smooth hands to fumble around, until they find his calloused, rough ones. He holds his hand strongly however, and Frank can’t help but stare at their joined skin.

“We'll do all we can, Mr. Castle. It will depend on what her lawyer and what her demands will be. But if it's necessary, we can take this to court and prove your kids place is by your side, not hers” 

For some reason, he believes him wholeheartedly. Maybe it’s how he holds his hand firmly, or how he speaks with such a open, honest and gentle voice. Maybe it’s because it’s the first time in seven months he feels like he’s slowing down for a second, receiving comfort from someone who has just met him, and yet is so willing to give it candidly. 

He leaves that day with a nod to the blonde lady at the desk. His hand tingles all the way back, feeling the ghost touch of Murdock’s soft hands. The tingling only stops when he gets home and is met with Frankie giving hell to Curt as he tries to put them to eat their lunch. 

He goes take care of his babies, and only thinks of Murdock again when he's alone, remembering his delicate hands with pretty nails and expressive face and auburn red hair.

The blonde lady, who he finds out is named Karen, calls him not much time later. The documents with his demands and concessions are ready and so is the contract. He needs to sign them and discuss things with his lawyers, apparently. She tells him they will also need to settle on a date to meet with Maria and her fancy lawyer.

She had called, two days after he met Nelson and Murdock (and Page). She asked to talk with her kids. 

Lisa had refused with the coldest expression Frank had ever seen on his baby girl’s face, and it had broken his heart.

Frankie Jr. had wanted too, although he maintained the sad, uncomfortable expression all the way through. And then Frank heard her ask if he wanted to see her and Billy and he had stepped in, putting his feet down on the matter. She’d only see them after they settled on custody.

She had hung up after that. Said she didn’t want the kids having to deal with living in two different houses and that it would be better for them to stay only in one, with Frank.

Discarding them like a burden she didn’t need anymore. Mid age crisis if Frank had anything to say about it. Wanting to feel free and unbothered by everything else but her pretty new boyfriend. 

He expected better of the women he married, but it’s clear now he should’ve lowered his expectations. 

When he gets to Nelson and Murdock’s office, only the two blondes are there and Nelson wears a sheepish expression on his face, apologizing for his partner’s delay. He looks confused as hell, and also worried, and it makes Frank’s mind unwillingly tense too. 

Instincts are a thing Castle prides himself on. But after all the tours and all the carnage he saw and unleashed himself, his mind, sometimes, would detect danger where there wasn’t any. Get tense and enter fight-or-flight mode over nothing at all.

But it wasn’t PTSD. 

It wasn’t, okay?

“So, Mr. Castle...”

“Just Frank” he grunts out, a bit uncomfortable with all the Mr. this and Mr. that rolling around this office. 

“Well, anyway Frank, we think we may solve this easily in a sit down with Miss Bianchi's lawyers. In the eventuality this moves to court, we have to be prepared to gather evidence and proof of neglect-” 

The door opens, then. And in comes Murdock, putting his cane and jacket by the door on the coat rack, his suitcase in one hand and something like a small blue gym bag in the other. Frank notices immediately he’s limping the slightest bit as he walks comfortably towards Karen’s desk.

“Karen?”

“Morning Matt” she extends her hand for him to direct himself towards her, and he kisses her cheek with a small smile and a squeeze to her shoulders.

“Fogs?”

“Here, Matt” he sighs fondly and Frank notices how he walks easily inside those walls, clearly comfortable with the familiar environment. He stops to do the same to Nelson; squeezing shoulders, kissing cheeks in greeting with a small smile. “Hey, Matt-” Foggy has not time to warn his friend of Frank’s presence before he trips on the man’s boot, regaining his footing rather quickly.

“Oh!” 

“Sorry-” he tries apologizing. 

“Mr. Castle?”

“He said it’s just Frank” Nelson chimes in, and Frank almost rolls his eyes at the cupcake’s little self-satisfied smile.

“Oh.. Frank then. I didn’t know you’d be back so early” 

“Matt, buddy. It’s 9 A.M.” Murdock pauses at that, turning slowly towards the source of Nelson’s voice.

“No it’s not”

“Afraid it is, counselor” Frank chimes in.

“Oh, really?” his hands slowly touch around a peculiar looking clock in his left wrist. Frank notices it’s a braille clock. “My clock must-... oh, it stopped working again. Shoot” Nelson sighs fondly with something like a chuckle following and taps the seat by his side.

“Act professional, Matty”

“Foggy, you’re fired” Frank smiles a bit at the two’s bantering, while Murdock sits down by his friends side. It’s clear they are, at the very least, close friends. 

“Ok. Now that we have Matt here, let’s proceed. As I was saying-...” Frank starts loosing a bit of the thread of conversation there, registering Nelson’s words but not paying them too much heed. His eyes stray easily towards Murdock’s face, noticing a slight discoloration of a fading bruise to the man’s cheekbone. When he moves to adjust his tie, he sees the scraping on both of his hands, which lower down afterwards. His eyes stay on the fading bruise for a second more, considering, and then fall down to his hands, idle on the table, one in top of the other.

His nails are different, today. Quite charming, actually, how they match the navy blue of his tie. The start on the same tone, fading out towards his pinkie fingernail to lighter shades of blue. 

Pretty colors. Pretty fingers. Soft hands. Bruised cheekbone. Scraped palms. Fall? Probably. Looked like it. 

Beautiful lips. Shiny, red hair. 

_ Fuck _ , he can’t focus.

He tries to, after that. Keeps his mind on the game. He wants to go throuh this process as smoothly as he can. If possible, Castle doesn’t want to take this court. His children don’t deserve all the ruckus it would cause on their lives. It’s enough they kept seeing their mother with another man for months, with Billy counting on how, using his words, gullible kids are and how easy it would be to hide it from them.

His baby girl was always smart, however. 

Lisa had admitted she had seen it since the beginning and thought it was weird. But didn’t think her mom would be a  _ “lying cheater with no shame” _ which, although made Frank kind of sad for his little girl, had still made him laugh hard at her choice of words.

He actually wanted to use it. Tell it to Maria’s face. A woman he loved with all his heart and for so long. Frank, however, is good at putting pain aside to do what matters. And what matters is to take care of his kids. 

The last 7 to 8 months were enough for him to come to terms with the bitterness replacing what once was his love for Maria. For her cheating, for her lies and for all the bullshit she put his kids through. 

So he keeps his attention on everything he says. He tries to, at least. His eyes seem to have will of their own and just keep on straying towards Matthew’s figure. His freckles, his auburn hair shining ginger in the sunlight, his soft fingers reading braille. The scrapes he can’t come up with a reason for. 

He focuses until he can’t anymore and they dismiss him for the day. Frank can’t help commenting then.

“You should... huh... these scrapes ain’t looking too good” Not awkward at all, Lieutenant.  _ Goddamn it. _

“Oh”

“You should uh... clean that up”

“ _ Please no blind jokes” _ Nelson mutters from behind the redhead, who gapes in something between amusement and outrage.

“Mr. Nelson, I thought I had fired you already” he turns back at Frank’s direction, sassy smirk in place “And they’re fun, I’ll have you know”

“First hundred times, maybe”

“I’ll be cutting off on your salary this month”

“Sorry to tell you, but you don’t pay me, bud”

“Oh well” Frank tries not to chuckle at the both of them, but Matt turns to him once more. “Thank you Frank, I’ll clean them. I should have done that by now”

“Yeah, no big deal” 

“Did you fall again, by the way?” Nelson asks. Frank immediately notices how Page holds back a laugh and Murdock squirms in place, nervous expression replacing the easy going one.

“Hm” it’s his answer, clearly dismissing the subject. Page snorts behind her hand. And Frank, he leaves there with a small smile. Murdock is quite something and those three were nice. 

He goes home and is kidnapped by Lisa and her friend, Leo, only to be released if he baked cookies with them. So he does, and he makes imitations to make the both of them laugh. Frank has fun in a way he didn’t think he deserved to have anymore. But it feels easier to let himself enjoy good things everyday, and so he keeps on going.

Frank only thinks of Mathew again when he lays in a cold bed. He wonders if his body is as warm as his hands. He wonders what would it feel like to hold him to his chest. 

For their next meetings, the marine keeps noticing things about Matt Murdock. He always carries that gym bag, by the looks of it. Frank never once sneaked a peek of what was inside, although he didn’t think it could be much of anything interesting. Murdock was just a mystery, overall, and he always ended up curious about him.

Sometimes, he has scrapes on his hands. Sometimes, he has new bruises. New week seems to mean new colors for him, and so Frank is always peeking to see the next. Regardless of choice, they always look stunning on him, in a way Frank didn’t think he’d ever find anyone else after his wife. 

Thinking about her leaves a bad taste in his mouth, now. 

Murdock gravitates around Karen and Nelson like a loving devotee, bringing them coffee almost everyday, even if it gets quite hard to maneuver his cane in one hand, a bag on a shoulder, a suitcase in his elbow and the coffee cups in the other hand. Frank was impressed the first time he saw him.

He even started bringing Frank coffee, whispering around about Karen’s legendary coffee. 

“Legend has it once you drink it, you have only two days left to live” he had teased, whispering loud enough for the lady to hear it. 

“And your tongue turns black, never to return to it’s normal color again” Nelson had teased too. They were something like a found family, and it reminded Frank of his unit. Of Curt, and the family he met at Lisa’s school, the Lieberman’s. 

All in all, he doesn’t know much about Murdock’s life, but it soon becomes clear that those two meant the whole world to him. Proved by how he got into a frenzy when Nelson missed work, down with a flu. The whole time he dedicated his whole attention to Frank, he still looked pale and worried. Frank left early that day to let him go fret over his buddy.

The back hugs and kisses is his default mode with the two of them. And he seemed to always leave their favorite treats on their tables or their pockets, Murdock was quite sneaky, it seems.

The day before they set to meet Maria with her fancy lawyer (courtesy of Russo’s never ending money), Frank is nervous. He is afraid she told her lawyer differently, decided to try and get custody of his kids. He is terrified they’ll use his years in service and try to pin him down as a irresponsible veteran with PTSD who can’t care for kids without spacing out or getting angry and antsy. He goes over a thousand things on his head, trying to remember if there’s anything she could use against him to take his kids away from him.

He comes up with a whole lot of things he’s sure his head is making up by some point.

Nelson and Murdock are confident they can solve this easily in their favor, and from the bits and pieces he gathered from witnessing the both of them rehearsing and brainstorming ideas, they are not only attentive, good lawyers, but have the full potential to act like sharks, if the situation calls for it. Specially Matt, the sunshine, with treats and coffee. Frank saw that devilish smile once and knew the fancy lawyer with a fancy French name was doomed in their capable hands.

Even knowing that, Frank can’t calm down as he leaves their office for the day. He dreads to think about his kids being raised by Billy. The world revolves around Bill in his head. He’s manipulative and resourceful in bad ways most than good. Maria became reckless by his side. 

It’s almost six p.m by then, and the soft rain from earlier is now a blown out deluge. There’s no way he can’t get to his car without getting drenched, and he has a phone in his pocket. One he’s not willing to lose. He’s still figuring out work, and army pension is not enough to sustain two kids, a baseball class, whatever the hell slimes are that Lisa likes so much, one marine and a new phone. 

And he might just loose it if his kids have no way to contact him. Because  _ what if they are kidnapped, what if they get lost, what if Billy tries to come for them, what if- _

Maybe he needs therapy. He’s working on that part.

It’s almost thirty minutes later when if finally starts to thin out a bit, and he’s crossing the street when he hears a curse.

“Oh  _ damn it-”  _ a thud. 

He looks back with his heart jackrabbiting against his ribs. Hands itching to take the handgun he left in the car. He’s been working on being unarmed, after years of packing during his tours and even sometimes when he came back home. 

It’s sunshine himself. Gathering his fallen suitcase and balancing it and his gym bag in one hand, cane in the other. Frank has to sigh out heavily, trying to calm down his racing heart. 

“You- hum... need any help with that?” his sentence ends up in a chuckle when Murdock squeals in surprise.  _ Squeals.  _

“Frank, what are you still doing here?”

“Parked a bit far, had to wait the deluge out” 

_ Don’t do it. Don’t do it. _

“You hum... you walking home?”

_ Don’t. Do. It. _

“Yes, I live few blocks away”

“You want a ride?”

_ Fuck. He did it. _

But what’s the matter with him anyway? It’s not like he owes anyone anything, if he wants to get to know Matthew better, he can, right? Chasing a bit of happiness, that’s a thing, right?

Well, Frank will make it a thing. 

“I can walk, it’s not a big deal” 

“’tis still raining, Red. And juggling with those bags and a cane can’t be all fun, huh?” the man sighs at the reasonable answer and then pauses a bit, seemingly realizing something.

“Red?”  _ Ow, shit. He said it out loud. _

“Your hair” Murdock gapes for a moment.

“I distinctly remember my hair being auburn”

“tis red”

“No it’s not”

“Whatever you say. Red” Matt chuckles then, shaking his head.

“Lead the way then, mister” 

Frank scoffs at the name and nudges him with his elbow. Matt smiles a tiny, grateful thing his way and puts his hand on him. Even through his jacket, his hands are warm and light against his skin. It makes his day when he notices the slight blush behind those dark shades of his.

“Thank you” he puts him by the car, lets him fumble to find the handle as he goes to the driver’s seat.

Murdock is limping again, now that he can look at him properly. And there’s a fading bruise by his temple. It makes him a bit worried that he gets hurt so often. Although it doesn’t really look like someone decked him, and more like a crash. Maybe a fall.

Did blind people trip and fall a lot? He doubts it. 

Is Murdock just a clumsy disaster of a human?

Seems legit.

“Got hurt?” he asks nonchalantly, or at least trying to sound like it. Matt perks up at the question and tilts his head, confused. Like a puppy.  _ Shit.  _ He keeps associating Murdock with puppies.

Frank always liked puppies. Maybe that’s the reason.

“You’re limping” he continues, but he doesn’t mention the fading bruise. 

“Oh. Yeah. I stepped wrong, I guess” 

“Uh huh” Frank grunts in answer, leaving it at that. Murdock is a bad liar, but he doesn’t seem to be trying very hard either. He gives him an address inside Hell’s Kitchen and so Castle starts the car.

“You from the Kitchen?”

“Born and raised” Matt says, smile direct to the marine’s general direction, as he starts folding his cane. It probably rubs against the scrapes on his hand because he hisses.

Frank can’t help but comment.

“You get hurt an awful lot for a lawyer. You do sports?”

“Hummm...” that’s an avoidance if he ever saw one, he thinks, as the redhead scratches his head and flushes slightly. Frank can’t help but smile a bit, Matt is really... adorable, there’s no other word for it. And he kinda likes watching him squirm.

Oh.  _ Oh, that’s a dangerous thought. _

“Secret, hum?” he jokes back and Matt chuckles.

“Not really. I just...” Murdock sighs wistfully, as if unsure how to word whatever it is he’s trying to convey. “Well, it was something I loved doing as a kid but stopped, after the accident” he explains, gesturing to his blind eyes. “And... I’m trying again, I guess” Frank grunts in assent. It never sounds rude, which Matty finds interesting. It sounds attentive and understanding. 

He likes the nuances of this man. A lot.

“Does the lady know by any chance?”

“You mean Karen?”

“Yeah”

“Hum... yes, how’d you know?” the lawyer asks with a confused chuckle, eyebrows pinching. 

“Dunno... she does this face when your buddy Nelson acts confused around ya” Matt barks out a laugh.

“Oh well. I should’ve known she wouldn’t be discrete” Frank watches him for a moment, as they stop at the red light. It’s really difficult to take his eyes off the other man’s face. He really wants to take those shades off. They are all wet too, droplets drying against them.

“Gotta admit” he starts, still watching the beautiful man by his side. God, he’s besotted. “Thought you were in a fight club for a while” Matt laughs again, throwing his head back a bit, lips pretty and pink. Face open and full of joy. It’s really a sight to behold and Castle has to smile at it. So honest and open, even when trying to keep something to himself.

“Well, Frank, if I were in a fight club, you wouldn’t know. It’s rule number one” 

“Yeah I see how it is”

“You do, huh?” Murdock stops chuckling slowly then, big smile still in place. “Can I tell you a secret?” he fake whispers, coming close to Frank’s ears, and he tries not to think of how his breath smells of strawberry candy and coffee with too much sugar “I don’t”

“Blind jokes, Murdock? Real classy”

“I’m a classy person, Frank. What can I say?”

“Yes you are, Red” he agrees, easy smile on his face. Which should feel weird after all he’s been through, but it doesn’t. He wonders if it’s the same for the man sitting next to him. 

They fall into easy silence for a minute or two. Matthew, however, soon turns to him again by the next red light.

“People almost always say something. Or act weird.” he tells him, voice tiny as he drums his fingers in the air, showcasing his nails. “You didn’t” he mutters then, hand falling to his lap. He seems relieved at it, at the fact Frank didn’t make a big deal out of it.

And should he? Frank usually didn’t give a shit what people did, as long as they weren’t hurting anyone. They were happy with themselves, and that’s what matters.

“Well, I should have” he can’t help but tease, letting Matt stew in the silence for a second too long “They look amazing”

After a moment of shock, it gets him what he wants: another laugh out of him. 

“Aw, thank you” he coos, preening and blossoming like a flower by his side. It’s amazing what a compliment did to him, he wonders if he doesn’t hear them often. He should. 

“Really” Frank’s voice gets quieter, then. Trying to convey everything he wanted to say, and not really knowing how to pick up the words “Looks good on ya” it’s what he settles with.

It seems to be enough for Murdock, who smiles big at him again. He’s a sweetheart and Frank is wrapped around his little finger already.

Maybe when they finally finish all this. When they are just Matty and Frank, not client and lawyer, he can do something about it. Put his life in tracks, get a good job, keep his kids fed, safe and happy, always. And maybe, go after that piece of himself that latched on to the redhead and doesn’t seem to wanna let go.

“We’re here” he announces, and Matt turns to him with a soft, gentle smile on his face.

“Thank you, Frank” he comes closer, a hand reaching out for his and Castle takes it, feeling his muscles drop with the warmth and smooth texture of his skin “And, about tomorrow? We won’t get out of there without your kids. Be it tomorrow or in court” 

“Thanks, Red” he whispers back, and Matty lets go of his hand slowly, walking softly towards his building. The  _ tap tap tap  _ of his cane echoing until he disappears inside.

Maria doesn’t even fight, doesn’t even look saddened to be signing away her kids like a piece of land. It settles something in Frank, something unresolved about their failed marriage. Everything he admired and loved about that woman died there and he feels lighter than he felt in a long time. 

Eight months of dealing with her comings and goings, confusing his kids and making them cry, it ends then. All the hope that she’d get her head out of her ass and whatever bullshit Billy was feeding her and remember her kids, remember how to care for them, how to love them, it dies immediately. It had been slowing rotting and festering.

Now, it feels like an unimaginable weight got off his shoulders. He’s sad for what they had, but glad that it stops there. He has no desire to be with someone who did what she did to Lisa and Frankie, holds nothing but contempt and hatred for her behavior.

Billy shows up at the door and has the gal to motion to talk to them, but Murdock is smart and seems to catch on quickly. Putting himself by Frank’s side like a celebrity’s security guard. Pretty nails glinting, but his sharp smile was devilish and cutting.

“Frankie, I just- wanted to say sorry”

“Bill, I don’t give a shit what you two did together, yeah?” he puts a grounding hand on Matt’s shoulder, trying to convey physically that he can deal with this. It’s the first time someone jumped to the chance of acting as a human barrier for him, who’s a brick wall of a man. It makes this peculiar warmth spread in his chest. 

For now, he has to deal with this fucker.

“You fucked this up when you put my kids in danger” he says then, menacing whispers to a man he once saw as a brother. The closest thing he had to family out there, before he met Curt “you both fucked this up when you left them alone and hungry and with no way to contact an adult to take care of them. So you stay away from them, got that?”

Matt puts a hand on his shoulder then and he turns his back to the two, feeling tired and yet, still lighter.

“If you wanna know” the redhead starts, small smile directed towards Castle “there’s a really good donut shop nearby. You could take Lisa and Frankie Jr., have an afternoon together” he suggests. He puts his hand on top of his by his shoulder, holding it.

“Thanks, Matty” he mumbles back, grateful smile in place. And Murdock must sense it somehow, for he smiles back. “And thank you three. You guys took good care of me. And my kids too” 

“It was our pleasure, Frank, really” the ever polite sunshine tells him, his hand slowly sliding off his shoulders.

“Yes, we were glad to help” Nelson adjoins. Karen, however, gives a knowing smirk towards him. Deliberately glancing to Matthew afterwards.

“You know, there’s a good coffee shop Matt likes nearby too” he doesn’t fluster. He’s a grown man. But it’s worth seeing Murdock getting progressively redder. “Since you’re not client and-“

“Karen!”

“Oh, we’re doing that now?” Nelson asks, smirk in place too.

“Mr. Nelson. Miss Page. You’re both fired” he bickers back, face still reddened. Frank licks his lips thoughtfully, staring at the lawyer.

“Yeah I might just take you up on that. Gimme the address, yeah?” he says, motioning silently after for Karen to give him Matt’s number too. Matt gapes like a fish as he leaves, and he drives to pick up his kids at Curt’s with a big, dumb smile on his face.

He finds out by accident, a week later. He had forgot about it, really. Too busy adjusting to the job in the kennel Sarah and David found him, to being a single parent. Curt and the Lieberman’s help, and he’s grateful for it. But he’s still raising them alone now. It’s as difficult as he thought it’d be and still, he’d never trade it for anything else in the world.

He’s on that damn donut shop for the third time that week, when he hears it.

“Murdock! I can’t believe you tripped again”

“Oh, I’m sorry Claire, I guess I didn’t  _ see  _ the ridge in the carpet. The one I asked you to fix four months ago”

“I said it a thousand times it’s not a damn carpet-“

“And it’s broken anyway-“

“Carpets can’t get  _ broken-“ _

_ “You  _ said it’s not a carpet-“

He finds the sound coming from a studio. A ballet studio.

_ Oh.  _

Through the halfway opened glass door he can see a Hispanic woman with her hair in a bun, wearing black all over. She’s got the  _ I’m-done-with-this-bullshit _ face down pat. Slowly standing up from the ground is Matty, not wearing his glasses for the first time since Frank met him, and that’s what takes his attention first.

They are hazel. Milky hazel. Clearly blind by how his pupils aren’t deep black, but foggy. He gets distracted by the other things, though.

The pointe shoes, at first. They are worn down and tethered, clearly meant for practice. He never thought they could look as beautiful as they did with the ribbons woven up Matty’s stocking clad legs. And what beautiful legs, suits look really good on him, but goddamn it if they didn’t hide how truly shaped Murdock was.

The stockings are white, knees dirty from falling. He’s wearing small black shorts too, over a deep red leotard. What actually gets to him though, what actually makes him forget he’s a grown ass man and not a high school kid getting awkward over pretty girls and boys is the cropped top hanging loosely from his frame. 

Well,  _ Jesus fucking Christ Matty.  _

It certainly explains his perfect posture, and how graceful he walks and moves.

He’s pretty sure he’s having a heart attack by this point. 

“Hey, mister, can I help you or you gonna keep drooling over my student?” Claire, the woman with the no nonsense face, is the one to notice him staring like a creep. He needs to get his shit together. Red is by the bench then, redoing some of the ribbons in his left leg.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to intrude-” Matt immediately perks up at him voice, walking towards the door with a hand brushing against the wall, orientating himself.

“Frank?” he asks curiously. Frank never once saw him get a voice mistaken for another. He had good ears. 

“How you doing, Red?”

“It’s okay, Claire, I know him” he comes to the coat rack by the door, taking a yellow sweatshirt and putting it on. Autumn was coming and he could see the shivers springing up Matt’s pale neck.

His nails are white today, little golden yellow daffodils painted in his ringer finger of both his hands. They shine golden in the light.

“Hey, Frank, how- how are you?” he’s flustered, and Frank tries to lighten up the mood.

“Thinking of suing you actually, counselor. Think Nelson would do it?”

“Totally would. But why?” they both chuckle then, bodies gravitating towards each other.

“Goddamn donut shop, Matt. Kids will have me broke before the week ends. Third time this week” the redhead snorts at that. They’re close enough Frank can see the top of his head and feel the warmth of his breath.

“I should say I’m sorry but... nah” he sasses back, witty smile in place, which makes Frank chuckle in turn “I’m glad you guys enjoyed yourselves together. You deserve it” he smiles then, and it’s honest and so heartfelt. That’s one of the things he really noticed from Matt’s character. That bleeding, golden heart.

“Yeah... thank you for that”

“So.. ballet?”

“Yeah” Matt is a bit more subdued then, small smile still in place. “You must think I’m an idiot, to hide it like that”

“Didn’t cross my mind” it did cross his mind, however, which bigoted asshole made him believe he had to. “Shouldn’t feel like you have to hide it though... you shouldn’t feel like that ever” he ends up reaching out to take the other one’s hand, not even noticing himself doing it. Matt smiles sweetly, squeezing his hand back.

“I’m working on it. Just... it gave me a bit of grief growing up. I grew up in a catholic orphanage, you know how it is” Frank feels his chest constrict in sympathy. He knew how church and Catholicism could be good, had seen it in his mom when he was kid. But he had seen how twisted it could be too, when he first found out he liked boys as much as he liked girls. 

“Yeah. I know... Just, you found your way back here, where you’re happy, and that’s what matters, right?” Matt nods, that big, sunlit smile in his face. “And you... hum.. look good too, can see it.. makes you happy, yeah” 

Frank just had a way with words, sue him.

“Thank you, Frank” he  _ beams  _ at him. Frank feels like kissing him.

“Owe you coffee though” he says instead, lopsided smile taking over his features. 

“Oh, I was promised things” Frank barks out a laugh at that, holding Matty’s hands tighter against his. This is a good thing, it could be a wonderful thing. He’s sure he doesn’t ever want to let go.

He takes him to meet his kids, then. Matty is attentive and thoughtful all the time as he talks to the both of them, smiling and laughing and joking by their sides. Lisa immediately wants to asks all types of question about ballet and Frankie wants to know if he can do backflips. (Turns out, he actually can). Frank’s face hurt, he smiles all afternoon.

They can grab that coffee later. 


End file.
